Samuel t



(No Model.)

S. T. STREET RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 354,992. Patented m. 28, 1886.

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' PATENT Erica.

SAMUEL T. STREET, OF DEPOSIT, NEW YORK.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 354,992. dated December 28, 1886;

Application filed December 14, 1885. Serial No. 185,566. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL T. STREET, a citizen of the United States, residing at Deposit, in the county of Broome and State ofNeW York, have invented a new and useful improvement in Railway-Signals, which I shall clearly and exactly describe with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figu re 1 is a side view ofthe apparatus shown in connection with a railway-rail. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view of the rail and of the attachment adjacent thereto, which is arranged to be moved by passing trains and to operate the signal-circuit closer; and Fig. 4 is a perspective detail view of a part.

Like symbols of reference indicate like parts wherever they occur.

My invention consists in an electrical signaling device for indicating the approach of rail-' way-trains at street-crossings or other places remote from the operating mechanism of the signal-circuit which is put into action by passing trains.

In the drawings, (see Fig. 1,) N is a lever, which is fulcrumed at c to a-bracket, e, and extends at right angles from the railway-rail R. The inner end of this lever fits under the head of the rail, and crossing the lever in a line parallel with and adjacent to the rail is a short horizontal metal bar, A, whose upper surface is about half an inch above the level of the rail, and whose under side is about oneeighth of an inch above the normal position of the lever N. The bar A is supported by coiled springs B, and is guided in its vertical movements by guide pins or bars,-which extend through the coils and work in vertical holes in the ties O. Plates w are preferably bolted to the surfaces of the ties, and the guidepins pass through holes in these plates. The bar A is intended to be depressed by the wheels of passing trains, which engage the bar; and to prevent evil-disposed persons from meddling with the apparatus the springs B should be made strong. The lever N is preferably made of steel or other elastic springing material, and mounted on it near its outer end is an insulated plate, 5, Figs. 1 and 4, from which extends a spring-arm, t', made of thin steel and coiled at its outer end into a spiral. This spring-arm passes between two contact-pieces,

h and j, which are so arranged on the plate 5 that one shall be above and the other below the spring. 3 and 4 are line-wires of the signal-circuit, the wire 3 being connected electrically with the spring 1' and. the wire 4: with the contacts h and j. These wires extend to the crossing or other place where a signal is to be given, and have in circuit a battery and an electric bell or other electrical alarm-signal. When the spring 2' is brought into contact with either the contact h or j, it will complete the circuit and will sound the alarm at the crossing. At the outer end of the lever N isa coiled spring, M, which is fastened to the lever by bolts 12, and has at itsend a weight, y.

The foregoing is a general description of the apparatus, and its operation is as follows: When a car passes on the track B, the treads of the wheels engage the bar A and force it downward upon the short arm of the lever N, thereby throwing the long arm ofthe lever violently upward, and as the bar rises after each wheel passes and is depressed by the next, a constant oscillation and vibration of thelever is maintained. This causesthe weighted spring M to rapidly recoil, and the vibrations of this spring continue the oscillations of the lever which are started by the depression of its short arm. The rocking of the lever N vibrates the spring i, which alternately strikes against the 7 contacts h and j, the coil at the end of the spring-arm continuing and regulating the vibrations. Each time when the spring t. strikes 8 5* the upper or lower contact, the signal-circuit is closed and the alarm is sounded, and by reason of the action of the several springs the vibration of/the contact-spring i iskept up after each car-wheel passes over the bar A, thereby increasing the frequency and duration of the alarm. The extent of vibration of the spring t'is regulated by a set-screw, 0, whose end is directed toward the base-plate 5.

I will now describe the manner of attaching the bracket 6 to the rail, which forms a feature of my invention.

The bracket at its rear end is made of substantially U form, and fits under and at the sides of the flange of the rail, and on one side 2. lug, f, projects inwardly and fits overv the flange. Set-screws I) pass through the side of the U-shaped part of the bracket and engage the web of the rail. When the screws b are tightened, the lugf and the end d of' the bracket bear on the flange, exerting force in opposite directions and securely clamping the bracket to the rail. At the free end of the bracket itis provided with ears,between which the lever N is pivoted by a bolt, a, passing through the ears.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I show a circuit-closer for a second signal-circuit. which may be used in connection with an electrical alarm-bell or with an electrical annunciator of some other form. Two vertical posts. 1", extend upward from a base-plate, m, which is bolted to a bedblock, 1'. The lever N passes freely between these posts, and over it is a metallic cont-actplate, k, which is secured to and upheld by the posts. One of the wires, 1, of the signalcircuit is electrically connected with the contact-plate k, and the other wire, 2, is connected with a contact-plate, n, on the lever N, which is arranged to strike against the contact is as the lever N oscillates. A battery and an electric signal or annunciator are interposed on the circuit 1 2, and as a train passes over the rail R and raises the long arm of the lever N each time that a car-wheel passes over the bar A, the circuit will be alternately closed and broken by the striking of the contact n against the contact-plate k. In this way the time of the passing of a train may be indicated at a distant station, and, if desired, the number of cars in the train may be noted by observing the number of interruptions in the current, for the passing of each wheel makes and breaks the circuit once. I have not shown in the drawings any specific kind of indicator or alarm-signal for either the circuit 1 2 or 3 4, since their construction forms no necessary part of my invention.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I claim as my inventiont 1. The combination, in an electrical signaling device for railways, of an electrical signal-circuit, a lever arranged to be moved by the wheels of a passing train, and a movable circuit-closing spring mounted on said lever, whereby on motion of the lever the spring is caused to vibrate and to close the circuit intermittently, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination, in an electrical signaling device for railways, of an electrical signal-cir'cuit, a lever arranged to be moved by the wheels of a passing train, and a movable circuit breaking coiled spring mounted onsaid lever, whereby on motion of the lever the spring is caused to vibrate and to close the circuit intermittently, substantially as and-for the purposes described.

3. The combination, in an electrical signaling device for railways, of an electrical signal-circuit, a movable circuit-closing lever arranged to be oscillated by the wheels of a passing train, and thereby to intermittently close the circuit, and a coiled spring, M, on the'lever, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination, in an electrical signaling device for railways, of an electrical signal-circuit, a lever, N, arranged to be moved by the wheels ofa passing train, the contactspriug 1;, mounted on the lever, and a second spring, M, also on said lever, for continuing the vibrations of the spring t. substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination of the lever N, arranged to be oscillated by the wheels of a passing-train, asignal-circuit, a spring, '5, mounted on the lever and arranged to vibrate on motion of the lever, a contact-plate constituting a terminal of the signal-circuit arranged above or below the spring, which spring constitutes the other terminal of the circuit, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. The combination, in an electrical signaling device for railways, of a signal circuit, a circuitclosing lever, a bar, A, arranged beside the track in the path of the car-wheels and over the end of the lever, and springs supporting the said bar, whereby the pressure of the wheel on said bar moves the lever and opcrates the circuit, substantially as and forlthe purposes described.

7. The combination, in an electrical signaling device for railways, of a signal-circuit, a circuit-closing lever arranged to be oscillated by the wheels of a passing train, a bracket, e,

removably secured to the railway-rail and forming the fulcrum for the lever,and provided with a lug, f, fitting inwardly over the flange of the rail, and a set-screw, 'b, clamping the bracket to the rail, substantially as and for the purposes described. SAMUEL T. STREET. Witnesses:

EVERETT B. ADAMS, H. W. KNAPP. 

